Views from a United Church of Christ Minister

Eco-Justice

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (September 20, 2005) — The threat of a huge negative environmental fallout in the South after Hurricane Katrina is very high, say some environmental groups.

To Derek Malek-Wiley, an environmental justice organizer with the Sierra Club in Louisiana, the health risks from the contaminated water, soil and air are not being taken seriously enough.

"The (Environmental Protection Agency) monitoring is inadequate," said Malek-Wiley, who is also a resident of New Orleans. "The concern is that this is not the first time we've seen something like this happen - this is like Sept. 11."

Residents and workers in New York City are still dealing with health issues due to the toxins in the air after Sept. 11. Community groups are still arguing with the EPA over proper clean-up methods for buildings that the community organizers say were never cleaned properly in the first place.

"Four years down the road - are we going have an outbreak of disease traced back to this?" said Malek-Wiley, continuing the comparison to post-Sept. 11 issues. "There are a whole range of public health issues that are not being adequately addressed. It's tough because there's a desire to get back home and get back to business, but it's so strong that environmental and health concerns are being put to the side."

The picture being painted by the EPA is one of a contaminated region. More than 19,400 "orphan" containers of household hazardous waste have been collected. Some 44 oil spills have been found by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Officials from the EPA say they are doing all they can. The EPA and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality are monitoring air, water and soil contamination around New Orleans. Last week the EPA collected air samples around New Orleans to test for pollutants like benzene, toluene and xylene. According to an EPA news release about the sampling, "These screening data were evaluated against the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) air short-term health standards in order to provide an initial assessment of air quality. The screening results indicated that chemical concentrations in most areas are below ATSDR health standards of concern."

The EPA sampling also found higher levels of those chemicals in the air near the oil spill at the Murphy Oil facility in Chalmette, and the release states that "These initial results represent the beginning of extensive sampling efforts and do not represent all air conditions throughout the area. As this is a dynamic situation, general conclusions should not be made regarding air safety based on results from this snapshot of data."

That statement in itself angers Malek-Wiley, who says it points to the exact problem. "The contamination is hard to quantify. The EPA talks about its sampling program, but when you take a sample it's just from that time and place. What we need is a movie of what's going on throughout New Orleans."

He is also concerned that there is no sampling plan talking about how the contamination hazards are modified by being trapped in sediment. Another news release from the EPA discusses 18 sediment samples taken last week in New Orleans:

"Preliminary results indicate that some sediment may be contaminated with bacteria and fuel oils and human health risks therefore exist from contact with sediment deposited from receding flood waters. E. coli was deteced in sediment samples but no standards exist for determining human health risks from E. coli in soil or sediment. The presence of E. coli, however, does imply the presence of fecal bacteria and exposure to sediment should therefore be limited if possible."

The same release states that some semi-volatile organic compounds such as diesel and fuel oil "were detected at elevated levels and may persist in the environment," and then lists numerous possible health effects from coming in contact with or breathing in such compounds - such as peeling skin and increased blood pressure. Long-term effects from breathing in fuel vapor include kidney damage and lowering the blood's ability to clot.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced on Sept. 15 that it "would be coordinating technical support for federal responder and federal contractor safety and health during cleanup and recovery operations along the Gulf Coast of the United States."

Yet under the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) recently activated Worker Safety and Health Support Annex of the National Response Plan, that leaves state and local governments responsible for their own workers during the cleanup. According to a U.S. Department of Labor document on the Worker Safety and Health Support Annex:

"Private-sector and Federal employers are responsible for the safety and health of their own employees. State and local governments are responsible for worker health and safety pursuant to State and local statutes, and in some cases...Worker Protection. This responsibility includes allocating sufficient resources for safety and health programs, training staff, purchasing protective clothing and equipment as needed, and correcting unsafe or unsanitary conditions."

An OSHA spokesperson said local and state governments can apply to OSHA and FEMA for money to support the cleanup if it is necessary. Yet people like Malek-Wiley remain worried about a unified response from all agencies involved. Will the emergency workers and the public be properly protected?

"The scale of the environmental health catastrophe just keeps growing," he said. "I think there are a lot more questions than answers as far as what people's risks are going to be and how this will impact folks. Should there be a warning for pregnant women in the city? People and health officials don't know. The guys down there working to clean it all up - what kind of training do they have and what is their protective gear? Are they just wearing jeans and waders? There are all sorts of occupational exposures we need to worry about. There are so many unknowns that I think we need to be better safe than sorry."

As far as moving back into the affected areas across the Gulf Coast, another issue residents must face is drinking water. The EPA and the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals are assessing and monitoring the drinking water systems. According to the EPA, more than 490 drinking water systems are now operational and 26 drinking water systems are operating with boil water advisories.

For those with wells, the potential contamination may be a daunting foe. In Mississippi, the state department of environmental quality is urging all residents in flooded regions to have their wells tested for contamination.

The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) is issuing well disinfecting guides to local governments and the public. Cliff Treyens, the director of public awarness for the NGWA, said residents need to be vigilant and remove all contaminated water from their wells.

"When flooded water gets into the well, the well then becomes a pathway for that contaminated water to get into the aquifer," he said. "It's like a sponge, and then it's there."

That is why it is so important for residents to pump water from their wells until the water is clear, Treyens said. He added that almost all methods of killing the bacteria within wells also include chlorinating the entire well system of one's residence.

Treyens said he's not as worried about contaminated soil affecting groundwater. "The ground actually filters the water. So by the time the water reaches an aquifer, if it's sufficiently deep, the ground has filtered out and broken down a lot of the bacterial elements and even chemical contaminants if it's deep enough."

Many NGWA members are signing up via a national professional services volunteer registry to go into the hurricane affected regions and assist the public and local governments, added Treyens. "We'll also be looking at other potential responses for our organization."

Sunday, June 12, 2005

Residents of Wahkiakum County and Puget Island, Washington fighting the placement of a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) facility on the Columbia River – an environmental nightmare waiting to happen - have a new organizing tool: a blog. Visit Wahkiakum Friends of the River.

Thursday, May 26, 2005

The Eco-Justice Program of the National Council of Churches USA has launched a new Western Public Lands Initiative to address growing threats to our nation’s public lands and associated resources. Previously, the NCC has conducted ecumenical and interfaith programs addressing a range of environmental issues including air and water pollution, global warming, and energy conservation. Now the NCC will encourage its member denominations and partner organizations to make responsible stewardship and management of public lands an integral part of their efforts to protect and care for God’s creation. Through worship, education, and advocacy, the NCC initiative aims to begin answering the Biblical call to protect and redeem God’s lands. For more, click here.

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Four Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals are slated for sitting on the Columbia River near our home. They will be importing gas from unstable countries, and the U.S. will not be a buyer of first choice. LNG terminals are huge, dangerous, potential terrorist targets, ugly, and lower property values. One of the terminals is planned to be located about 1/2 mile from the end of Puget Island, on the Oregon shore. Our area, with 800 people on Puget Island and about the same in Cathlamet (1 1/2 miles from the site) is described by the development company as "desolate."

But here is the BIG ISSUE: The congessional house passed the National Energy Bill last week by 45 votes, including a provision that allows the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the authority to site LNG terminals over state objections. This energy bill is slated to to be voted on in the Senate soon. Please contact your Senators, both Democrat and Republican, and ask that they remove this provision from the energy bill. This is a state's rights issue that cannot be ignored! For more information, click onto Columbia RiverVision.

Puget Island is a beautiful farming community on the Washington side of the Columbia River. Could you imagine the environmental damage one of these terminals could create if it exploded (something that has apparently happened in other countries before)? This project has to be stopped. Contact your Senators ASAP.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

The United States Senate voted today to endorse drilling in the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - a step sought by George W. Bush but opposed by envirnomental and religious groups. Three democrats (Akaka, Inouye, and Landrieu) crossed party lines and joined the majority of republicans in supporting the move. Landrieu is often named as a possible vice-presidential candidate for 2008. A ticket with her on it would have to work hard to get my vote. Seven brave republicans broke ranks with the president and their own party and voted against drilling. One of those brave republicans was Gordon Smith of Oregon.

Washington, D.C., March 16, 2005--We express profound grief at the Senate's decision to include drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as part of the budget resolution. Rather than reduce our consumption of oil and begin to move our nation toward clean energy alternatives, our elected officials are once again charting a course that is both unjust and unsustainable. Sacred scripture teaches us unequivocally that we have a responsibility to care for God's creation and to be good neighbors. As people of faith, we also bear witness to the Biblical mandate to care for the least among us. Drilling for oil in such a fragile place contradicts both of these Scriptural commandments. Our call to protect all of God's creation extends to communities such as the Gwich'in that would suffer the most from this Senate decision. To risk the destruction of both an untouched wilderness and an ancient culture violates all that Western civilization understands as our Christian responsibility to people and planet. We call on the Senate to prevent the passage of any legislation that includes the possibility of drilling in one of the Creator's most precious places.

Saturday, March 12, 2005

Debate on how we act as stewards of the environment continues in our nation’s capital. The Bush administration has sided with polluters and profiteers over biblical mandates for the protection of creation. All the evidence suggests that care for creation doesn’t count as a moral value for this president or his allies on Capitol Hill. The United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries reports on their latest assault:

The biblical call to be stewards of God's creation has led people of many faith traditions to oppose opening the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil or gas exploration. This is a national treasure, an ecosystem virtually in its original form. It is currently under threat by a backdoor proposal in the Senate to include a drilling proposal in the budget process and thus avoid a full debate. Let your senators know that you oppose opening ANWR to drilling and development, and further oppose any attempt to slip major policy decisions past the American public.

Click here to send a message to your Congressional representatives asking them to do their part to protect the environment.

Religious leaders – including prominent evangelical Christians – are speaking out on the need for protecting the environment. The New York Times quotes The Reverend Rich Cizik, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, as saying recently, "I don't think God is going to ask us how he created the earth, but he will ask us what we did with what he created." Over 1,000 mainline religious leaders recently released a statement stating that: “To continue to walk the current path of ecological destruction is not only folly; it is sin.” You cannot find a clearer example of sin than the Republican effort to destroy the environmental health of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Tomorrow 136 nations on earth will enact the environmental protection agreement known as the Kyoto Protocol - designed to help reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The United States, under the leadership of George W. Bush, has refused to be a participant in the agreement. Big polluters, which support the president with large financial contributions, didn't want the agreement to go into effect - they want to keep polluting. FaithfulAmerica.org ran the following advertisement today to help draw attention to this important issue.

Send the President and Congress a message that environmental protection is important to you as a person of faith. Click here.

Monday, February 14, 2005

Over 1,000 religious leaders released a statement today on the connection between faith and the environment. The National Council of Churches reports:

In an effort to refute what they call a “false gospel” and to change destructive attitudes and actions concerning the environment, a group of theologians, convened by the National Council of Churches USA, released an open letter Feb. 14 calling on Christians to reject teachings that suggest humans are “called” to exploit the Earth without care for how our behavior impacts the rest of God’s creation. The statement, “God’s Earth is Sacred: An Open Letter to Church and Society in the United States,” points out that there is both an environmental and a theological crisis that must be addressed. Read more.

I signed the statement because of a deep concern – reflected in the statement – that our call from God is to protect and nurture creation. Sadly, political and religious leaders have done the earth great harm through bad theology and bad public policy. Part of the statement reads:

To continue to walk the current path of ecological destruction is not only folly; it is sin. As voiced by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who has taken the lead among senior religious leaders in his concern for creation: “To commit a crime against the natural world is a sin. For humans to cause species to become extinct and to destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation . . . for humans to degrade the integrity of Earth by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the Earth of its natural forests, or destroying its wetlands . . . for humans to injure other humans with disease . . . for humans to contaminate the Earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life, with poisonous substances . . . these are sins.” We have become un-Creators. Earth is in jeopardy at our hands.

This means that ours is a theological crisis as well. We have listened to a false gospel that we continue to live out in our daily habits-a gospel that proclaims that God cares for the salvation of humans only and that our human calling is to exploit Earth for our own ends alone. This false gospel still finds its proud preachers and continues to capture its adherents among emboldened political leaders and policy makers.

Religious leaders from Oregon are some of the most prominent signers of the letter. Since Oregon is my home state and my affiliation is with the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ, I wanted to highlight the names of those from Oregon who signed the statement.

Sunday, February 06, 2005

Are Evangelicals going green? Yes, reports the Washington Post. "The environment is a values issue," said the Rev. Ted Haggard, president of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals. "There are significant and compelling theological reasons why it should be a banner issue for the Christian right." The big question: how do they reconcile support for creation with their support for George W. Bush?

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

President Bush will offer the following words on the environment during his State of the Union address tonight (according to the White House transcript):

To keep our economy growing, we also need reliable supplies of affordable, environmentally responsible energy. Nearly four years ago, I submitted a comprehensive energy strategy that encourages conservation, alternative sources, a modernized electricity grid, and more production here at home, including safe, clean nuclear energy. My Clear Skies legislation will cut power plant pollution and improve the health of our citizens. And my budget provides strong funding for leading-edge technology - from hydrogen-fueled cars, to clean coal, to renewable sources such as ethanol. Four years of debate is enough - I urge Congress to pass legislation that makes America more secure and less dependent on foreign energy.

No one can take the president’s commitment to the basic protect of God’s creation seriously. He has a long record of putting the interests of polluters ahead of clean air and clean water. Just today religious leaders testified before Congress to advocate opposition to the president’s environmental agenda.

Washington, D.C., February 2, 2005--Religious leaders representing the National Council of Churches USA and five of its member denominations have joined together to ask members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to reject the proposed "Clear Skies Act" of 2005. In testimony that was submitted this morning during a full committee hearing today, religious leaders from the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church and NCC, testified against the bill because it fails to implement policies needed to clean up our the nation's air and excludes provisions to address the threat of global warming.

"[W]e believe the legislation delays the critical action necessary to clean up our nation's air and fails altogether to address the real and present threat of global warming. We urge this committee to adopt amendments that would strengthen standards, speed up implementation, and control emissions of carbon dioxide," says the testimony.

In addition, the testimony states that "clean air is a basic right and necessity for all life" and that "we have too often abandoned (our) sacred responsibility . . . leaving a legacy of pollution that threatens the health of communities and the very future of our planet." Citing the harm air pollution can cause humans, including premature deaths, asthmas attacks, and lost productivity, the religious leaders urged Senators to enact strict emission controls to clean the air.

Monday, January 17, 2005

Earlier this week it was 75 degrees here in Webster Groves, MO. We took the kids and the dogs out to the Eden campus to play fetch. Later that night we received several inches of rain with some pretty big thunderstorms. The next morning it was snowing and the high temperature - which had been 75 the day before - never reached 30. Missouri isn't the only place getting odd weather this winter. What is the reason? Global warming might be part of it. The National Council of Churches USA Eco-Justice Program reports that "scientists tell us 'global warming is real; the science is sound; and the effects are likely to be severe.' We add 'this is a religious issue!' We are called to care for all of God's children, especially the most vulnerable, and to protect and restore God's creation. Climate change is a threat to all people and all of creation." Check out their resource Cry of Creation: an Interfaith Study Guide on Global Warming and see how your congregation can become involved with this issue. In the meantime, stay warm. Or cool. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Become a Fan

Join The E-Mail List

Disclaimer

Views expressed here represent the perspectives of Rev. Currie, as well as reader participants, and may not represent the views of Pacific University, the United Church of Christ’s national offices in Cleveland or any local UCC congregation. External links made from this site should not construe an endorsement. Rev. Currie has no more editorial control over such content than does a public library, bookstore, or newsstand. Such external links are made for informational purposes only.